“I don’t think you should go upstairs by yourself,” Sybil hissed in a whisper.
“The master cannot come down,” Winston stated in a tone that gave nothing away.
“Cannot, or will not?” Sybil asked tartly. She didn’t see how injured wrists prevented him from descending the stairs.
Winston looked at her for a moment in silence. “Will not,” he eventually said.
Abbey stepped closer to Sybil. “We’ve come all this way. I have to go upstairs. I will be fine, don’t worry. I’ll call if I need you.”
“I’m coming up with you, but I’ll wait in the hall outside the door,” Sybil said, glancing at the native ceremonial masks on the wall, which gave the drawing room a rather eerie feeling. She didn’t want to be left alone there.
Abbey looked at Winston. She knew he’d overheard what they said; this was confirmed when he nodded and asked them to follow him.
The trio climbed the staircase, turning right at the landing. On the second floor, they passed several doors as they walked towards the front of the house. Finally, Winston knocked on a door before opening it.
“Miss Scottsdale to see you, sir,” he announced as the two women waited behind him.
No sound came from the room. Winston gestured for Abbey to go in. She glanced at Sybil, gratefully reassured by her company. She then took a small shallow breath, and entered the room. She was so nervous that she was shaking, but she tried to project a confident demeanor.
The room was quite dim. Heavy drapes were drawn over a shuttered window. It was also very cool, despite the heat of the day. The walls were a dull blue, and the sofa and chairs were a bland fawn color. There was a royal blue and fawn carpet square on the parquet floor and a variety of pictures on the walls. Heath was sitting in an armchair that faced the window, on the far side of the room, and did not turn to greet Abbey.
“Heath,” Abbey said gently. “How are you?”
There was no reply.
“Heath?” Abbey said again.
“I’m fine,” Heath replied flatly. “Why shouldn’t I be? More to the point, why do you care?”
His despair was quite a shock to Abbey. “Of course, I care,” she said. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Why are you here? I thought you wanted nothing more to do with me.” The hurt and rejection he felt were frighteningly evident.
Abbey was overcome by a wave of guilt. “I never said that. I only suggested we don’t see each other socially, as in courting. That doesn’t mean I don’t care what happens to you. I was terribly upset when I heard that you’d harmed yourself. Why would you do something like that, Heath?”
“How do you know that I harmed myself?”
Abbey flushed. She didn’t want to get Doctor Ashbourne in trouble by suggesting he’d betrayed his patient’s confidence.
“That doesn’t matter. What’s more important is that you’ve got everything to live for.”
“No, I haven’t, not when you get down to it. I have no real friends.”
“That can’t be true,” Abbey said. Where were all the women friends he was rumoured to have?
Heath snorted derisively. “Sure, I have plenty of acquaintances, but they all want something from me.”
“That’s not true. I don’t want anything from you,” Abbey declared.
Heath thought this was ironic under the circumstances. “You are not a friend, which is what I need right now.”
“That’s not the impression you gave me, Heath,” Abbey said in a small voice, recalling his passionate claims about their hearts knowing each other.
Heath did not reply. He just sighed despondently.
“You have so many people depending on you, Heath,” Abbey said, wishing to change the subject. “At the mine and on this estate. You can’t let them down. Now is no time to sink into despair.” She hoped that making him think of his responsibilities would help him realise how many people were counting on him.
“Feeling this way is not something I’ve chosen, Abbey. I can’t help feeling lost.” Heath’s words were melodramatic, but she tried to understand.
“I can’t find a wife, so I’ll never have the family I want,” Heath added emotionally. “My life is empty, and I can’t see that changing.”
Abbey rushed towards him. “Don’t say that, Heath. I’m sure none of it is true. You are a handsome man, and you have an amazing home. You’re the husband a woman could only dream of. I could name a string of girls who would fall over themselves to be with someone like you. Of course, I don’t know anyone of your social standing, but I’m sure you do.”
“There you go again, suggesting I only want to date high society girls and that I have a string of them waiting for me. In case you hadn’t noticed, there aren’t too many socialite types in the country. The ones I have had the displeasure of meeting are as bland as suet or as empty-headed as a paper bag.”
A bubble of laughter burst from Abbey before she could stop it, but she quickly pulled herself together. “Sorry,” she said, catching Heath’s eye. For a moment, a corner of his mouth twitched upwards.
“Is that the beginning of a smile I see?” Abbey asked gently.
“No,” Heath snapped, but his tone was softer, and he flicked a glance in her direction.
Abbey knelt before him and placed her hand over his. She could see that both his wrists were bandaged, and it reminded her again of the seriousness of the situation. “Heath, promise me you won’t do something this foolish again.”
“I can’t do that,” Heath said with a tremor in his voice, before he looked away.
“If we see each other as friends, will you then promise me?” Abbey asked, hoping to convince him.
Heath looked at her. “Do you mean that? I don’t want sympathy, Abbey. I want something real, even if it is just friendship.”
“It’s not sympathy. I’m offering you genuine friendship.”
With the door left open and the house so silent, Sybil could overhear their conversation. As someone who’d been around the theatre for more years than she cared to remember, she knew acting when she heard it. And she was sure that Heath was putting on the act of his life. But why? What could he possibly want from Abbey, other than the obvious? She was sure he could get female attention wherever and whenever he wanted. So, what was he up to?
“I don’t know what is wrong with me, Abbey,” Heath whined pitiably.
“Perhaps if you’d had time to mend your relationship with your father, you’d feel differently,” Abbey said.
“I will never forgive him for what he did to you, Abbey. It torments me.”
Abbey was touched.
“I’m sorry, too, for frightening you away like I did. I was being needy, and that’s awful. I have no excuses. It was just the day, the funeral. Please forgive me.”
“All is forgiven,” Abbey said.
“Can we really be friends?” Heath asked hopefully.
“Yes,” Abbey said.
“Thank you,” Heath said, embracing her. With his head resting on her shoulder, she didn’t see the triumphant light in his eyes.
***
Jack, Elias, William, Tom, and Wilbur had been riding over all three properties for nearly two hours, searching for the Aboriginal men who had been giving them trouble, but had had no luck. Wilbur even tried tracking them, but they had obviously anticipated such efforts and had very cleverly disguised their movements.
The group found several sheepskins, which infuriated them, especially Jack. The skins were marked with his brand.
At one point, they came upon a campsite on Anama, where there were several children and women. Wilbur questioned them about the men they were looking for, but the women claimed the men were from a different clan.
“Shall I chase them off, boss?” Wilbur asked.
“No, leave them be,” Jack sai
d. “Just tell them to tell their men to leave our sheep alone,” he added.
They headed in the direction of William’s house, where they found several more extinguished campfires.
“I really think you and Martha should stay at Bungaree until we’ve got this sorted out,” Jack said. “Especially as Martha has only a few weeks left and is more vulnerable than ever.”
“Martha won’t budge, Jack,” William said. “I asked her again last night, but despite what happened, she doesn’t want to leave our home, and in her condition, I don’t want to upset her by insisting. Thankfully, I taught her how to use a rifle.” He felt a little more relaxed with Ernie watching their home while he was out.
Jack sniffed the air. “I can smell smoke,” he said. “I think there’s a campfire nearby.”
The men turned in a circle, trying to find the smoke.
“Over there,” Elias said, pointing toward the west.
The men mounted up again.
“That’s not a campfire,” Jack said, panicking. “It’s a bushfire.”
The men rode hard to reach the fire, which was on the top of a rise. They quickly dismounted and circled the flames, stamping out what they could. Luckily, the grass was sparse and the fire small. They were able to extinguish the last of the smouldering embers by kicking dirt onto them. They were all perspiring when they were done, but they’d no sooner taken a breath than Wilbur caught sight of another fire, this one in the distance. They mounted up again and headed for it. This second fire was even smaller, and it hadn’t been burning long, so they soon put it out.
They were standing, catching their breaths, when Wilbur spotted some Aboriginal men a distance away, on another hill.
“Over there, boss,” he said. “On the hill.”
Jack looked at them. “I think we are going about this all wrong,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Tom asked, ready to chase them down.
“I think we need to make peace with them. If we don’t, they could burn us out.”
“Are you mad?” Tom asked. “We came out today to drive them off our properties.”
“We can’t watch our homes and livestock all the time. What have we found today? Sheepskins and fires. What does that tell you?”
Tom thought about what he was saying.
“He’s right,” William said. “If they try to burn my house” He paused, swallowing hard. The thought was too terrifying. “I don’t want to lose Martha and the baby.”
“How do you propose we make peace with them?” Tom asked, not yet seeing merit in the idea.
“We’ll have to get Ernie and Wilbur to talk to them,” Jack answered. “I don’t know what will make peace. They believe we’ve taken over their land. But we’ve got to try.”
CHAPTER 18
On the journey home, Sybil struggled to find a way to discuss Heath objectively with Abbey. She seemed on a high from making peace with him and was blinded by his performance.
“I think he felt a lot better when we left, Mrs. Hawker,” Abbey said happily. “I don’t think he’ll harm himself again.”
“I don’t understand why he did it in the first place,” Sybil said. “Did he give you an explanation?” She’d overheard his professed explanation, and it didn’t make any sense, as far as she was concerned. But she wanted to know what Abbey made of it. She didn’t want to hurt the young woman and tell her what she really thought.
“He claims to be lonely and that he doesn’t have any real friends,” Abbey said. “Personally, I believe he was just depressed because his father died before they could mend their relationship.” She hadn’t had time to make amends with her own father after their last disagreement, and she deeply regretted that. But at least he knew that she loved him, and that gave her some comfort. Heath and his father had barely been on speaking terms.
“He must have many friends,” Sybil said. “He’s young, rich, and handsome. That’s a combination that would make him very popular, especially with women, surely.”
Abbey smiled when she recalled what he’d said about society women in the countryside. It was quite unkind, but still amusing. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? I gather he knows lots of people who consider themselves friends, but Heath doesn’t feel that any of them are genuine.”
Sybil didn’t believe Heath was genuine, either.
***
Soon after they got home, Jack and Tom arrived at the house. They were no sooner through the door, when Sybil started sniffing and wrinkling her nose.
“I can smell smoke,” she said. She got close to Jack. “It’s on your clothes.” She turned to Tom. “And yours.”
“We found a small grass fire and put it out,” Jack said casually. He didn’t want to alarm his mother.
“How did it start?” Sybil asked. The prospect of a bush fire near the house had always terrified her. There were hundreds of blue gums on the property, and several surrounded the house. Gum trees were known to sometimes explode when on fire.
“The wind probably blew embers from an abandoned campfire into the dry grass,” Jack said.
“That would be unusual,” Ralph said. “The Aboriginal community is quite obsessive about putting their campfires out when they leave them.”
“That’s right,” Clementine agreed. “I’ve heard that, too.”
“Well,” Jack said, frustrated. He had hoped to play down the drama of the day, but it seemed it wasn’t going to be possible. “We believe that a small group of Aboriginal men deliberately lit the fire,” he admitted. “Actually, two fires.”
“Why would they do that?” Sybil asked, panicking.
“They’ve always considered this land to be theirs, so presumably they want to drive us off. You know we’ve had trouble with them over the years, stealing sheep and fighting with our shepherds, but the day before yesterday was the first time they’ve attacked us with spears. I just don’t want this situation escalating.” He wasn’t sure they’d meant to hit Tom, as he only had a minor wound on his arm, and Aboriginal hunters could spear a kangaroo mid-hop from quite a distance.
“Oh, Jack. They won’t set fire to the house, will they?” Sybil asked, becoming even more frightened.
“No, Mother. It won’t come to that. I have a plan to make peace with them.”
“What are you going to do?” Clementine asked.
“I haven’t worked out the details yet, but perhaps Bungaree could supply the troublemakers with a ration of meat each week. Something like that.”
“If it was up to me, I’d shoot the lot of them,” Tom said without thinking. He glanced at Abbey, who looked absolutely horrified. “I’m joking,” he said, embarrassed when he realised what the young woman must think of him. “Of course, we can’t do that.”
Sybil gave her son a withering look. She suspected that Tom would not hesitate to shoot the suspects if he thought he’d get away with it. He didn’t mind those he referred to as civilised, like Ernie and Wilbur, and the few that he’d employed at his place, but he had no time for the tribal Aboriginal community members who wandered onto their properties. “You’d better do something soon, Jack,” Sybil said.
There was a knock on the backdoor, and Jack heard his name being called urgently. He hurried to the door to find Elias, looking worried.
“Max is missing, boss,” the manager said, coming straight to the point. “We were moving a mob of sheep with the dogs when he suddenly disappeared.”
Jack was alarmed, but he tried to remain calm. “He can’t have just disappeared. Have you whistled for him?”
“Yes, I’ve been looking for him for half an hour. I came back here to see if he’d come home, but he’s nowhere to be found.”
“I’ll come and search,” Jack said. “Go and ask Ben to saddle me a fresh horse.”
“Make that two,” Tom called.
“Thanks, Tom,” Jack sa
id. “If we spread out, we can cover more ground.”
“Be careful,” Sybil called after her sons as they hurried out the backdoor. She turned to Abbey, Clementine, and Ralph. “I don’t like the idea of them separating to search for that dog after what happened to Tom. They are more vulnerable apart.” She headed for the sherry bottle and poured herself a glass to steady her nerves. “Would anyone else like a drink?” she asked.
Clementine and Ralph said they would, so Sybil poured them one. “You may as well have one, too, Abbey,” she said, pouring a fourth glass.
Abbey did not refuse.
***
As Jack rode over Bungaree, he called and whistled for Max, but the dog was nowhere to be seen. He went to the last place that Elias had seen him and asked Ernie to look for tracks in that area, but after hundreds of sheep and two other dogs had trampled the ground, it was a lost cause.
“Can’t see nothin’, boss,” Ernie reported. A hot, northerly wind had come up, too, which made it even harder. Dust was blowing everywhere.
“Max wouldn’t just run off,” Jack said, very worried. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
“He might go back to the house if something was frightenin’ him, boss,” Ernie said.
“He’s not there, and I’ve never known Max to be scared of anything,” Jack said. “Not even a snake. He’s killed dozens of them.” In the back of his mind he wondered if Max had accidentally run into a snake and been bitten. The thought of him lying somewhere, dying, was too painful to think about. For now, he still held out hope that Max would go back to the house. He’d left the back gate open, just in case.
“We’ll keep lookin’ for him, boss,” Ernie said, still examining the ground. Tom had to go back to his station to check on his own stock, but he said he’d keep watch for Max on Anama.
Jack, Elias, and Ernie searched the rest of the afternoon and into the evening with Jasper and Rex. Jack hoped the dogs would be able to sniff Max out, but they didn’t. After riding over almost every inch of the property, Jack sent Elias back to the house with the exhausted dogs.
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